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Karachi Kings bat first after Islamabad United opt to field. DawnNews

The Karachi Kings trounced Islamabad United by 45 runs, knocking the reds out of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Sharjah on Wednesday.

Wickets dropped like flies for United who were set a 127-run target by the Kings during the 22nd match of the PSL this season.

With this victory, Karachi has qualified for the last playoff.

The flurry of wickets courtesy leg spinner Imad Wasim, Muhammad Amir and Usama Mir who took three each left Islamabad at a disappointing 82 all out, 45 runs short of their target. Wasim was awarded Man of the Match.

The innings kicked off with a stunning upset as Dwayne Smith was caught out early by Kings captain and wicket keeper Kumar Sangakkara off a delivery by Amir, who went on to bowl BJ Haddin out and got Rumman Raees caught out by Pollard.

Sangakkara termed the beginning of the innings "a good start".

Speaking about the catch, he said, "I think I had my eyes closed and that helped. It was just one of those catches that stuck. Pretty lucky."

"I was just surprised that I caught it," he laughed while speaking to Ramiz Raja.

"A knock-out contest is draining. Every game is a do or die thing. The guys are starting to play like a team... I'm hoping we can get up again against Peshawar."

The Kings skipper also lauded Usama Mir for his "outstanding" bowling. "We have to bat longer," he conceded, "And stop our run outs."

Imad Wasim bowled Islamabad United skipper Misbah-ul-Haq at the beginning of the 9th over and Shane Watson at the end of the 11th over. He returned to take Nicholas Pooran's wicket.

Usama Mir got Shadab Khan, Asif Ali and Muhammad Sami out. Sohail Khan clean bowled Amad Butt.

Misbah, speaking to the media after the match said, "It's always hard to take this sort of defeat."

"We couldn't bat well on that pitch. One twenty seven was gettable. No pressure of a knockout game. They just bowled well and once we lost wickets, the pressure mounted. I think we batted badly," he admitted.

Islamabad United won the toss and opted to field.

The Karachi Kings racked up 126 runs, even as wickets fell like dominoes over the last five overs of the match.

Ravi Bopara, Shoaib Malik, Usman Khan, Sohail Khan, Imad Wasim were taken out by United in quick succession as the innings came to a close.

Babar Azam and Malik both scored 25 runs each, the highest scores this innings by Kings batsmen.

United bowlers ruled the innings with 18-year-old Shadab Khan taking Azam's wicket off his first ball.

Rumman Raees knocked Chris Gayle out early with just 17 runs. He went on to get Bopara, Pollard and Wasim caught out and took Usama Mir's catch off Muhammad Sami.

During yesterday's match, the Quetta Gladiators snatched a dramatic one-run victory against Peshawar Zalmi yesterday at Sharjah to enter the the PSL final scheduled for March 5 at Lahore's Qadhafi Stadium.

After 20 matches, the PSL 2017 has now entered the decisive stage where Lahore Qalandars will be missing for the second successive season.

In an exact replica of inaugural season, the playoff line-ups are same as they were last year.

Explore: Crunch time in PSL as playoffs start today

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PSL 2017: Karachi Kings knock Islamabad United out of tournament - DAWN.com